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# Interactive clay attraction on Ipswich Waterfront aims to draw 60,000 visitors annually
- URL: https://www.ipswich.co.uk/interactive-clay-attraction-on-ipswich-waterfront-aims-to-draw-60k-visitors-an/
- Published: 2025-02-24T07:54:19.000Z
- Updated: 2026-03-16T15:20:23.000Z
- Description: Plans for a new visitor attraction in Ipswich's Waterfront House will offer hands-on exhibits exploring how clay shapes homes and culture worldwide.
- Author: Oliver Rouane-Williams
- Tags: News, History, Heritage & Museums, #article, Baylight Properties, #Import 2026-03-16 14:45

**Why it matters:** The project will create 13 new jobs and aims to strengthen Ipswich's cultural offering while bringing a vacant historic building back into public use.

**The big picture:** Baylight Properties, the new owners of Waterfront House, have submitted plans to create 'At Home With Clay' in the former grain warehouse on Wherry Quay.

![Waterfront House in Ipswich](https://storage.ghost.io/c/29/1e/291e4b7f-e551-4458-b546-61963954b22f/content/images/2026/03/1736980324-waterfront-house-ipswich.jpg)

Waterfront House in Ipswich Photo: Oliver Rouane-Williams (Ipswich.co.uk)

**By the numbers:**

- 60,000 targeted annual visitors
- 1,220 square metres of exhibition space
- 13 direct new jobs created

**The details:** Plans show:

- A foyer with workshop space and atrium on the ground and first floors
- Exhibition spaces across five floors
- A dedicated area for hands-on clay activities
- A viewing balcony overlooking the waterfront

**What they're saying:** Planning documents state visitors will be "taken on an interactive journey to discover clay all around us, in bricks and pipes, cooking pots and crockery."

**For context:** Built in 1901 as a grain store by R&W Paul Ltd, the seven-storey brick building has previously served as an exhibition space and offices. It sits within the Ipswich Central Conservation Area.

![At Home With Clay will offer hands-on exhibits exploring how clay shapes homes and culture worldwide](https://storage.ghost.io/c/29/1e/291e4b7f-e551-4458-b546-61963954b22f/content/images/2026/03/1740330167-at-home-with-clay-waterfront-house-ipswich-proposed-design-edited-1.png)

At Home With Clay will offer hands-on exhibits exploring how clay shapes homes and culture worldwide (Thing Studio)

**Going deeper:** Public consultation showed strong support for the project:

- 98% want more visitor attractions on the waterfront
- 94% agree it's an appropriate new use for the building
- 92% believe it will encourage more visitors to Ipswich

**The bottom line:** If approved, the attraction would operate six days a week during main season, with reduced opening hours in winter, aiming to become a significant addition to Ipswich's cultural landscape.

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